Apparatus for pulling rails



May 1951 c. GORBETT APPARATUS FOR PULLING RAILS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 19, 1948 (Firm-neg:

Patented May 22, 1951 FFlCE APPARATUS FOR PULLING RAILS Cleon' Gorbett, Fort Worth, Tex.

Application May 19', 1948, Serial N 0. 27,893

4 Claims. (01. 254 121) 1 My present invention relates to apparatus for pulling rails from a roadbed, and has for an object the provision of apparatus of the character designated especially adapted for removing rails of a street railway, which, as is understood,

generally are imbedded in the street level with.

the surface thereof.

Another object is to provide apparatus of the character designated which may be mounted on a pneumatic tired motor vehicle of standard construction and embodying means to transmit the pulling stresses imposed on the vehicle directly to the roadbed or street, thus permitting the use of a relatively light weight vehicle, relieving the stresses on the pneumatic tires thereof, and maintaining the mobility of the unit.

Another object is to provide apparatus for removing rails in which the pulling mechanism embodies a lever pivotally mounted on the bed of the vehicle, to which a rail grappling hook is operatively connected, together with a weight operable to cause the lever to be raised when the operating cable therefor is slackened, thus placing the grapplin hooks in position for attachment to the rail without having to manually raise the lever.

A further object is to provide apparatus of the character designated which shall be simple and rugged of construction yet light in weight, and in which the ground or roadbed engaging members may be easily and quickly removed for loading on the vehicle, thus permitting the vehicle to travel with normal road clearance when moving to or from a work site.

Apparatus embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevationalviewj illustrating my improved apparatus mounted on a vehicle;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged rear elevational View of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 and partly broken Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showingthe apparatus with the parts loaded on the vehicle for. moving from the job; and

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken'alongline IVIV of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of my invention, I show my improved rail pulling apparatus mounted on the,

cargo deck In of a standard motor vehicle. The deck I!) may be reinforced by means of longitudinal I beams I l, suitably secured as by bolting or e welding to the framework I Z oi the vehicle. [The vehicle is equipped with pneumatic tired wheels, l3, and the deck frame may be supported from.

the chassis by the usual leaf springs I4.

Mounted adjacent the rear end of thecargo deck I0 are longitudinally extending, relatively short I beam sections It and I1. Mounted on each of the I-beams l6 and I? is a relatively heavy bearing 18 and I9. Pivotally mounted on a cross shaft 2| journalled in the bearings I8 and i9 is a lever arm 22. As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the lever arm 22 has a lever arm 23 welded to its lower pivoted end thereby forming a bell crank. A diagonal brace 24 connects the outer end of the lever arm 23 and the upper end of the lever arm 22 thereby to rigidly connect the two lever arms. The assembly thus formed may be further strengthened by the provision of a triangular plate 26, welded along its edges to the lever arms 22 and Z3, and diagonal brace 24.

Pivotally mounted on the free end of the lever arm 23 by means of a pin 2i is a yoke 28, and rotatably mounted in the yoke 28 is a sheave 29. As shown in the drawings, the sheave 29 is disposed with its rotational axis parallel to the longitudinal center line of the vehicle.

Threaded over the sheave 29 is a cable 3|. Secured t0 the ends of the cable are clevises 32 and 33. The clevises are pivotally mounted on pins 34 and 36 to the outer end of a pair of members 31 and 38, pivoted to each other as at 39, and forming a quick connecting grappling hook adapted to engage about the ball portion 4! of a rail R. in the manner to be explained. Mounted on the deck of the vehicle adjacent the front thereof is a winch 52, power driven in any suitable manner, for instance by means of a shaft 43 leading to the engine (not shown) of the motor vehicle and transmitted through the gears and shafting shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The winch 42 operates a cable drum 34 about which is wound a cable 46. Cable 46 carries a clevis 41 at its free end which is connected by means of a pin 48 to a plate 49 carried on the upper end of the lever arm 22. It will be apparent that when the cable drum 4t rotates to wind cable 46 thereon the upper end of the lever arm 22 moves forwardly of the vehicle as indicated by the arrow 5|, the shaft 2i thereof rotating in the bearings l8 and I9.

Disposed adjacent the rear of the deck It isa post or column 52. As shown in the drawings, the post 52 is slightly inclined rearwardly of the deck as viewed from the side, and is vertical as viewed from the rear. The post is held in this position by means of a pair of braces 53 and 54,

3 welded to the post 52 and to the deck [0. The upper end of the post is thus disposed rearwardly of the upper end of the lever arm 22 in all positions of the latter. Secured to the top of the post 52 by means of a bolt 56 is a yoke 51, and rotatably mounted therein is a sheave 58.

Adjacent the front of the deck are a pair of spaced, vertically disposed columns 59 and BI. The columns 59 and are held in vertical position by means of suitable braces 62 and E53 secured to the deck Ill. The columns 59 and M are connected across the top by means of a member 64. Mounted on the member 64 adjacent the center thereof are brackets 66 between which are rotatably mounted a sheave Bl. Passing over the sheaves 61 and 58 is a cable 68. One end of the cable 68 is fixed to the top of the lever arm 22 by means of an I bolt 69. The other end of the cable passes between the columns 59 and BI and is connected to a weight '3 i. The weight is guided in vertical movement between the columns 59 and BI by means of guides E12 and 13 mounted on adjacent sides of the columns, and slides M and 16 carried .by the weight.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the rear end of the vehicle framework carries a depending plate 7?, reinforced by means of a structural member l8 and a knee brace 19. Forwardly of the wheels is I provide 9, depending plate 8|, suitabl braced to the chassis frame l2 by side gusset plates 82. The end plate ll and the plate 8! are provided with a plurality of holes 83 and 8 respectively. The corresponding holes in the plate are equally spaced from the longitudinal center line of the vehicle, thus to form sets of holes for attaching the ground engaging menu bers, as will now be explained.

Secured by means of pins $5 and 5'? removably inserted selectively in the sets of holes 33 and 84 are the upstanding rear and front brackets 83 and 83, respectively, carried by a pair of elongated ground engaging members 5! and 92. The members 9i and 92 may each comprise an I beam 93, the lower flanges of which are rounded upwardl to provide skid ends as indicated at 95.

From the foregoing the method of constructing and using m improved rail pulling apparatus may now be readily explained and understood. With the apparatus assembled as shown and de scribed, the vehicle is positioned so that the members 9! and 92 straddle the rail to be removed. By slacking the cable '16 by suitable rotation of the winch 3 2, the weight ii, through cable 53 pivots the lever arm 22 upwardly to the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, thereby lowerin the grappling hook for engagement about the ball M of the rail R. It will be understood that if the ball of the rail is entirely beneath the paving or surface of the street, the street is dug out as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing to permit the grappling hook to be engaged about the ball thereof. With the hook thus engaged, the winch is now operated to wind the cable on the drum 44, thus rocking the lever in the bearings i8 and I9, raising the outer end of the lever arm 23, and hence the grappling hook. As soon as the load reaches an amount sufficient to depress the springs i l and the pneumatic tired wheels it slightly, the ground engaging members 9! and 92 contact the ground and additional load imposed due to the pulling of the rail is transmitted directly from the deck in to the ground through plates H and 8|. After a section of the rail has been loosened from the roadbed, the vehicle is moved forwardly to engage the rail at a new position, and the cable 46 is slackened, the weight H causing the lever arm 22 to assume vertical position.

I preferably position the ground engaging I beams so that they are relatively close to the ground before the pull is commenced. In this way, all damage to the springs [4 as well as the pneumatic tired wheels is eliminated since no abnormal load is imposed on the springs and tires. Furthermore, by providing the spaced holes 33 and 3 in the plates Ti and 84%, I am enabled to space the ground ngaging I beams a greater or less distance apart thereby to aid in stripping the cement from the rail as the same is pulled upwardly.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, when it is desired to transport the apparatus from place to place, it is onl necessar to withdraw the pins 36 and 3?, thereby to remove the ground engaging members 9i and 92, permit-ting the same to be loaded on the deck of the vehicle as shown in Fig. 3. If desired, the lever arm 22 may be lowered as indicated, and a rest 96 may be provided for the same when in lowered position. The

" rest Ed may be suitably braced by means of a member 95.

In actual operation, I have found that my improved rail pulling apparatus is highl effective, highly mobile, that it may be mounted on an ordinary, light weight truck, and that it is rugged enough to withstand the stresses and. strains imposed on such apparatus. If desired, the ball of the rail may be notched at intervals along its length, thus to break the rail up into short sections when pulled. It is to be noted that the mounting of the ground engaging members 9| and 92 effected by the pin 86 and 8? permits the same to be moved close to the sides of the rail, thus aiding in stripping therefrom the cement or other roadway material in which the rail is embedded.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for pulling rails, a vehicle having pneumatic tired supporting wheels and a frame, a lever arm pivotally mounted at its lower end on the vehicle frame, a second lever arm rigidly secured to the lower end of the first mentioned lever arm, a sheave on the free end of the second lever arm, a cable passing over the sheave, a grappling hook secured to the end of the cable adapted for attachment to the rail and disposed when the second lever arm is raised to clamp about the rail, a power driven cable drum on the vehicle, a second cable secured at one end to the drum and at its other end to the top of the first mentioned lever arm, a verticall movable weight on the vehicle, means operatively connecting the weight to the first mentioned lever arm to urge the same to raised position thereby to lower the second lever arm, a pair of elongated ground engaging members, and means to secure 7 the same to the underside of the vehicle frame in position to engage the ground closely adjacent the sides of the rails to be pulled, said members lying relatively close to the ground before the pull on the rail commences thereby to contact the 5 ground and transmit pulling stresses from the frame to the ground.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the weight is disposed for movement in vertical guides mounted on the vehicle, and in which a cable connects the weight to the upper end of the first mentioned lever arm.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the means to secure the ground engaging members to the underside of the frame comprises longitudinally spaced members depending from the frame, there being a plurality of sets of aligned holes in said depending members spaced on either side of the longitudinal center of the vehicle, upstanding brackets adjacent the end of said ground engaging members having holes therein, and pins adapted to be removably engaged in said holes in the brackets and a selected set of said aligned holes in the depending members.

4. In apparatus for pulling rails from a roadbed, a vehicle having pneumatic tired Wheels and a frame, a lever arm pivotally mounted on the frame adjacent the rear ends thereof, a second lever arm rigidly secured to the first mentioned lever arm adjacent the lower end thereof and overhanging the rear end of the vehicle frame, a cable operatively connected to the free end of the second lever arm, a quick connecting clamp carried by the cable and adapted to engage the rail, 2. cable drum on the vehicle frame forwardly of the first mentioned lever arm, a second cable wrapped about the drum and having one end secured to the top of the first mentioned lever arm,

a guy post mounted on the vehicle frame adjacent the rear end and with its upper end disposed rearwardly of the upper end of the first mentioned lever arm, a sheave secured to the guy post adjacent its upper end, a third cable passing over the sheave and secured at one end to the upper'end of the first mentioned lever arm, vertical guides mounted on the frame forwardly of the first mentioned lever arm, a weight slidably disposed between the vertical guides, the other end of said third cable being connected to the weight, and a pair of road bed engaging members extending parallel to the rail removably secured beneath the frame and disposed to engage the roadbed closely adjacent the sides of the rail, said roadbed engaging members being disposed closely adjacent the roadbed before the pull on the rail commences thereby to engage the roadbed before excessive load is imposed on the vehicle wheels.

CLEON GORBEIT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 202,107 Haines Apr. 9, 1878 247,705 Stoddard Sept. 27, 1881 2,271,311 Shambaugh Jan, 27, 1942 2,353,381 Allderige July 11, 1944 

